Rice, Rice, Rice… Flakes, Milk and Grains

Dear all,

BROWN RICE is such a great and versatile grain, which still includes the side hull and bran. The side hulls and brans provide “natural wholeness” to the grain and are rich in proteins, thiamine, calcium, magnesium, fiber, and potassium.

RICE MILKis the third most popular nondairy alternative next to soy milk and almond milk. For me, it is THE most popular milk. The taste of brown rice milk is so light and refreshing and has a slight, nutty sweetness to it. SO GOOD!

Rice milk is made from milled rice and water. It is the least allergenic of all of these products, which makes it a good choice for people with lactose or nut allergies. I always choose a product that has been fortified with calcium and is certified organic.

Also, the good news is that rice milk is free from cholesterol, saturated fat and lactose. It is also low in fat and contains ZINC (involved in: boosting immunity, producing cells, wound healing), PHOSPHORUS (mineral needed for strong bones and teeth, and it also plays a role in filtering waste from the kidneys) and MAGNESIUM (essential for over 300 different chemical reactions in the body, including maintaining your energy level, helping you relax, and sustaining the health of your heart and blood vessels).

MAGNESIUM may be the most overlooked mineral although is it the most important nutrient for the heart; it helps the heart muscle itself function better.

MAGNESIUM also helps protect blood vessels, which is where most of what we call heart disease actually happens. Magnesium is also a natural blood thinner, much like aspirin, so many doctors and researchers believe that it may help prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Perhaps the area where MAGNESIUM could have the biggest impact is in the prevention of diabetes: Scientists have proven that magnesium levels are low in people with diabetes; people with higher magnesium levels do not develop diabetes; and that supplementing with magnesium appears to help reverse pre-diabetes.

As with all minerals in foods, the mineral has to be present in the SOIL where the food is grown.

The best food sources of magnesium are

beans, especially SOY;

whole grains, including bran;

nuts like almonds and brazil nuts;

seeds, including flaxseed, sesame, and sunflower;

Raw cocoa powder;

Having read up on the nutritional information of plant milks made me check the labels of the rice milk, almond milk and soy milk in the fridge. The only milk that contains plenty of magnesium is actually soy milk. I didn’t find any mention of magnesium on the other milk labels which is slightly confusing because brown rice contains 43 mg in 100gr brown rice. Well, I couldn’t find any information about whether the amount of magnesium in rice milk is too low to actually label it or whether there is another reason for not labelling it.

Anyway, my findings support the importance of consuming a LARGE VARIETY OF WHOLE PLANT-BASED FOODS, including different kinds of milk. For me, soy milk belongs into my daily coffee, almond milk belongs into batters and desserts, rice milk and oat milk is added to cereal and porridge, and coconut milk is more reserved for puddings and curries. Of course, this is not set in stone and we switch milks according to our daily cravings. Speaking of cravings…I’ll take a break now and have one of my crunchy sweet almond butter banana lettuce wraps (which, by the way, will provide me with plenty of magnesium!).

I came upon a package of brown rice flakes a few days ago in the health aisle of our local supermarket and thought I’ll give them a try. Not that we are gluten intolerant, but it’s always nice to try something new. It turned out that I had made the right decision! The rice flakes porridge had a great texture and tasted delicious. What a great alternative to oat meal!